


In The End, The 21st Century Had You

by idreamtofreality



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Brownies, Bruce has a lady friend, Cake, DisneyWorld, F/M, Fish, Fluff, M/M, Shopping, because that's what I'm doing, but it's complete I promise, canonverse, do people actually plan their titles, jarvis is the absolute best, natasha and clint are children, no seriously they are absolute children, or do they just wing it, some chapters are really short and some are longer, summary what summary, the avengers are as always trying to catch bucky up, what even are titles, wow I love these losers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-01
Updated: 2015-02-19
Packaged: 2018-03-09 22:46:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 9,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3267173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idreamtofreality/pseuds/idreamtofreality
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James Buchanan Barnes is way too behind, and that isn't acceptable. Tony is a modern man who needs to be surrounded by modern people (excluding Thor, of course, who is a bit too far behind to have any hope). So he makes up a list with the help of the rest of the Avengers: all of the things that Bucky needs to know to get caught up. And, you know, it doesn't hurt if there's some fluff between the lines. And some serious assassin/dorito love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In the Beginning, There Was Tony

**Author's Note:**

  * For [frenchmeafry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/frenchmeafry/gifts).



> Thank you to my fantastic and beautiful friend, beta, and Anon
> 
> Also you gorgeous readers please leave comments I love you all and I live off of comments because y'all are perf

The list started with only one thing, and that was cars. Tony insisted that Bucky needed to see what’s what in the world of automobiles, since, according to him, such a world had much improved. Afterward, Tony had gone immediately to Thor, waving the little piece of paper with ‘cars’ scrawled across it in his face.

“Cool things they have now that they didn’t have in World War II,” he said, and dropped the paper and a pen in front of the other man. Thor looked at him over the rim of his coffee cup.

“I was not on Earth during World War II,” he told Tony, who rolled his eyes.

“Neither was I. Just write something cool down about Earth.”

Thor shrugged and scribbled two things down that were not in English, but apparently read ‘movies’ and then ‘3D movies’.

“They had movies,” said Tony, once Thor had translated. “I’m pretty sure.”

“And I am quite positive they had cars, as well.”

“Not as cool as the ones they have today,” Tony insisted. Thor gave him a look.

Tony left to find the rest of the Avengers.

                                                                   

1\. Cars (Tony)

Steve rapped on the door. “Hey, Buck,” he called softly. The Soldier, sitting right next to the open window, looked at him warily. “Tony put together this list” which was kind of a lie since Tony only went around pestering everybody to make the list for him and he only added a few things, himself, but Steve rolled with it—“of things we all thought you should experience. All the stuff you missed.”

Bucky didn’t answer immediately. He just looked back out the window. Steve stood in the doorway, wavering, unsure of what he was supposed to do or say. Then Bucky spoke. “Would it require going outside?” he asked, so quietly that Steve had to strain to hear.

“Uh. Yeah.”

“Everybody is okay with this?”

“I talked to Fury and he said that as long as I was with you, we could do it.”

Bucky looked amused. “What, like you could take me down if I go dark side again?” He was definitely learning some phrases from Tony. Before Steve could answer, Bucky sighed, the smile slipping from his face, and although Steve knew it was fake, he couldn’t help but miss it when it was gone. “Is it a long list?”

“Not really,” Steve said. He tried to make his voice lighter and happier, but it didn’t work. “Twenty things. It isn’t too bad.”

Bucky was quiet for another few minutes before he stood. “What’s first?”

“Cars, I think.” Steve pulled out the crumpled sheet of paper and nodded. “Yeah, that one was Tony’s idea.”

“I can see plenty of cars from up here,” Bucky said. “It isn’t very exciting. They’re just shaped a little differently and they don’t break down as often.”

“I don’t think that’s what Tony meant,” came Clint’s voice, somewhere above them. Steve glanced upward—Clint was crouched in the highest point of the room, on a ledge.

“Are you spying?” Steve asked, incredulous.

“It’s fine,” said Bucky. “I knew he was there. He came in a few hours ago.”

“You noticed that?” Clint sounded pleased.

“Yes.”

“Cool.” Clint hopped down and shot both of them a salute. “Captain. Er. Soldier.”

Bucky smirked.

“Right,” said Clint, turning to Steve. “Show him the good cars. The classics, post-war. There’s a car show going on. Take him there.”

“Bucky?” Steve looked over at his friend. “What do you think?”

“I have all of the exits plotted out,” supplied Clint helpfully, “And the highest points where you can see everything. And I have a list of all of the people who’re going to be there. There was a guest list and Tony put you two on.”

Steve stared at him.

“What? I’m part of the Avengers,” Clint said. “I can get whatever information I want.” He grinned at Bucky, who was standing very stiffly. “I scouted it out, and then I had a brief conversation with the owner. It’s a good place.” And then he left, as if he could tell that he was no longer needed.

Steve smiled weakly. “What do you say, Buck?”

“Sounds fine,” Bucky said finally.

 

He didn’t think the cars were all that impressive, Steve noticed. He saw the disinterest in Bucky’s face as he was led through the rows, and Steve wasn’t particularly surprised; even before everything, Bucky wasn’t very interested in cars, and didn’t want to learn very much about them any further than how to fix one if it broke.

Still, when they were done with the tour and were walking back to the Stark Tower, Bucky smiled and held Steve’s hand, even when they weren’t crossing the street.


	2. Thor Has Good Intentions But Natasha Is A Romantic

2\. Movies (Thor)

Steve wasn’t sure what kind of movie he was supposed to show Bucky—they hadn’t really spent very much time in theaters. More time was spent in the alleyways by the theaters than inside the building, with Steve normally on the ground getting beat up and Bucky pulling whatever bullies there were off of him.

He asked Thor (he assumed it was him, since the original word was written in a different language and he knew for sure it wasn’t Russian) if he had any specifics in mind, and the god had come up with nothing.

“I had no plan,” he said. “If I have an idea, I will tell you. Just watch something.”

“Watch something cool,” Clint suggested, high above them as always. Fury had finally relented to funding the installations of ledges all around the tower so Clint could always find a place to be comfortable. “You know. Something badass. Arrows and gunfire and shit.”

“I don’t want anything too…” Steve paused, searching for the word; “Exciting, I guess.”

“Then watch a kid’s movie.” Natasha was curled up in a beanbag chair directly below Clint. “One with a good moral. I can pick one out, if you want.”

“Please,” said Steve.

But when he finally got Bucky settled on the couch with a comforter, hot cocoa, and popcorn, then settled in himself and turned on the movie, what played was definitely not a kid’s movie.

Natasha had put in a romance.

She had had the courtesy not to hang around while it played, unlike Clint, who was probably in on it, and was cackling somewhere in the darkness behind them.

Steve’s cheeks burned. He sank deeper into the cushions. “I can change it,” he said to Bucky, “To something more appropriate. Stark has a whole collection, and you can just take your pick.”

Bucky just smiled and opened up his blanket, inviting Steve to come close. “It’s fine, Steve. We didn’t watch very many romances together, you and I.”

No, Steve thought, Bucky always watched the romances with his dates, and Steve was always getting kicked out. He always got too worked up about people insulting America.

Bucky pulled him closer until their shoulders were touching. On the screen, the two main characters were kissing passionately. Steve wondered if he would ever kiss somebody like that. His first kiss had been sudden and awkward and unwanted, and his second, the brief and hurried one with Peggy—it hadn’t felt real. Steve couldn’t really imagine kissing her again, even if it was like before.

So he enjoyed the comforting warmth of Bucky’s body, and told Jarvis to turn the temperature down when it got too hot so they wouldn’t have to ever separate.


	3. Well We Can't Make Bucky Go Back To Being The Soldier, So We Should Probably Show Another Romance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow this is short

3\. 3D movies (Thor)

“We already gave them a romance,” said Natasha, padding toward Clint in a tank top and pajama bottoms. He smirked down at them.

“Are those sheep?”

“Shut up. We need to do this properly.”

“Uh. Star Wars. Indiana Jones.”

Natasha brightened. “Oh my god. What if we show them a Disney princess movie?”

“Do not say The Little Mermaid. Please no. Water makes me jittery.” Clint shuddered, and she rolled her eyes.

“I was thinking Mulan.”

“You don’t think the giant snowvalanche is going to cause a problem? Or the war part? Or the destroyed town? The army that got slaughtered?”

“Still an avalanche, Clint,” Natasha sighed. “And you’re right. Dammit.”

Clint struggled not to take too much pleasure in this.

“What about Beauty and the Beast?”

Barton declared it perfect. The plan was set in motion—Bucky was provided with some chocolate chip cookies with his cocoa, he was tucked in tight (Clint tried to give him a stuffed bear in a Captain America outfit, and the man had thrown it right back at him, not even looking but still hitting him right in the face. Clint was once again impressed) and Steve settled on the couch next to him.

The movie started playing, and neither man had a reaction of any noticeable kind. Not even Steve.

“Wait,” Natasha said, grabbing Clint’s arm. “Has Steve even seen this before?”

“Shh,” Clint said. “And no, he hasn’t. But look. They’re holding hands.”


	4. Perks of Being An Avenger

4\. Disneyworld (Clint)

“I don’t know,” Bucky said. “I don’t really seem the type to be around kids.”

“You were great with kids,” Steve interjected.

“Steve, that was seventy years ago and before I was the Soldier.”

They, with Natasha and Bruce and Thor, were in one of the lounge rooms. Clint was probably watching them from somewhere, and Tony was in the basement working on something. They could hear his constant clattering and explosions, even though they were several floors up.

“You’re literally surrounded by happiness and fluff,” Natasha said. “The whole time. Clint had a point.”

“Don’t go during Christmas,” Bruce advised. “Bad idea. Very stressful.”

“We’ll go on a week day. Tomorrow.” Steve wanted desperately to take Bucky to Disneyworld. “I can call ahead—”

“Stark can call ahead,” interrupted Clint.

“—and see if we can get the park cleared out or something.”

“You don’t agree with _that_ at all,” Bucky observed.

“Of course I don’t agree with it. Part of the experience of Disneyworld is seeing all of the kids. Standing in lines and griping about how it’s too hot and how you always want ice cream or popsicles.”

Bucky raised his eyebrows. “Steve hasn’t actually been to Disneyworld,” Natasha said. “Tony and Bruce filled him in. Well, and Clint.” They all paused, waiting for a comment from Clint, but if he was in the room, he stayed silent. Natasha shrugged. “Anyway, Steve’s been wanting to go there since it was mentioned. You’d be breaking his heart.”

Steve protested, but Bucky grabbed his arm, which seemed to quiet him down. Tony, who wasn’t, in fact, tinkering with anything, and was instead watching the whole ordeal on a collection of floating screens, cackled a little and wrote it down in a notebook with a big red crayon. “Steve,” Bucky said, “It’s fine. I’ll go.”

“You don’t have to, Buck.”

“I’ll be fine.” He glanced over at the others. “Besides. I’m sure the Avengers will protect everybody. If they want to come, that is.”

Finally Clint dropped to the ground. He had a Nerf gun in one hand, which he waved between Natasha (cross-legged in the arm chair), Banner (lying across the floor on his stomach reading an Iron Man comic book), and Thor (who hadn’t even looked up from the Asgardian book he was engrossed in). “You fuckers are not stopping me from going to Disneyworld,” he growled, and then his gun stopped on Natasha. “And I’m taking you with me.”

She threw her hands up. “I’ll do whatever you want! Please don’t shoot!”

On the floor, Bruce rolled his eyes. “Not this again.”

Bucky looked confused. “What again?”

Natasha pulled out her own gun and dove sideways. She tossed a gun to Steve (where was she getting these?) and then one to Bucky, who caught it with a rather alarmed expression, then was yanked away before Clint’s foam bullet could hit him. Banner, very slowly, scooted toward Thor and hid behind his bulky frame.

The two sat quietly while a very intense Nerf war raged around them. Thor got hit once, but he flicked the bullet toward Steve and, very calmly, continued reading.

Tony was only able to resist joining for ten minutes, and then he brought with him some Nerf weapons that were a little too advanced for any other fight than one between the world’s greatest superheroes.

 

They finally got to Disneyworld four days later. The war had lasted a long time and they all slept with guns beneath their pillows, just in case somebody decided to ambush them in the night. Natasha, of course, eventually sided with Clint, leaving Steve and Bucky as a team, and Tony flying—literally flying—solo, like he always did.

The day for their trip finally came, and they all put together their own backpacks (except Thor, who declared the fanny-pack ‘fascinating’) and got into a Stark airplane. They were in Florida within the hour.

If they weren’t all together, people might not have recognized them. Steve had gone out multiple times without being noticed, without being called ‘Captain’ even once. That, of course, never worked with Tony or Thor, and Clint was never actually seen unless he wanted to be, but the statement still stood. They probably would not have been noticed if they were separate.

But Bucky insisted. And because he shot Steve a little smile while clutching both straps of his backpack like a kindergartener on his first day of school, Steve had insisted, too.

“They pack up rides in groups of two or four,” Clint said. “So Stark, Banner, and Thor, and then us four.”

Steve nodded. “It’s a plan.”

Now they were standing in front of the amusement park in a line, shoulder to shoulder. Bucky took a deep, deep breath. Clint was grinning. “Smells like happiness, doesn’t it?”

Bucky cocked his head. “It smells like sugar, sweat, and asphalt. I don’t know what your definition of happiness is, but it isn’t mine.”

Clint was about to ask what _was_ Bucky’s definition of happiness, but then he looked at Steve and got it. “Aw, give it a chance.”

“Giving it a chance,” Bucky said. “I have a backpack that’s filled with water inside plastic bottles and things called granola bars.”

Tony, who was eating one of his bars already, lifted it. “Delicious.”

“I guess I’ll check us in,” said Bruce. “You already bought our tickets, right, Tony?”

“Of course I did,” Tony replied, sliding on his sunglasses. “Go on. We’re waiting.”

Tony was the only person who could make all of the Avengers—even Thor, who had extraordinary patience—roll their eyes simultaneously. Bruce moved to the ticket booth, passing a group of people who had moved out of line to take pictures of the team.

“Hello,” Bruce said pleasantly to the woman in the booth. She stared at him, open-mouthed. “I think my. Uh. My friend bought some tickets. I think it’s under ‘Stark’.”

“Tony Stark.” Her voice was very faint.

“Yeah, him. He’s kind of a dick, sorry. Do you have them? Our friend Bucky—well, we’re trying to show him the wonders of the future.” He smiled. “Disneyworld’s one of them.”

“That’s…” The woman ripped out seven wristbands and passed them, shaking a little, to Bruce. “That’s very nice.”

“Isn’t it?” Bruce took the wristbands. “Thank you very much.”

He returned to the others and passed out the bands—Bruce had to help Thor with his and gently remind Tony that he couldn’t fit it around his neck, while Natasha and Clint helped Steve and Bucky with theirs. Bucky stared at his for a long while, turning his wrist so he could see every part of the orange plastic.

“It’s so they know we didn’t sneak in,” said Natasha, answering his unspoken question, “Which people do. A lot.”

Bucky frowned. “Why? That’s dishonest.” Steve looked over at him with a raised eyebrow that said,  _like you wouldn't have done the same thing_ , and Bucky gave him the smallest quirk of his mouth that replied,  _let's not mention that right now, Stevie._

“Life is dishonest,” Tony announced. He tossed the granola bar wrapper in the nearest trash can and clapped his hands together. “Let’s do this. Disneyworld.”

 

They were all sick afterward, every single one of them, from a combination of too many spinning rides and too much sugar. Natasha and Clint sprawled out across the plane’s floor, entangled in each other’s limbs and moaning. Steve and Bucky slumped on each other in their seats, Bruce twitching in his own, and Tony and Thor sat up front trading complaints.

When they finally got back (Christ, the ride was long), Bruce, Tony, and Thor went to their own rooms. Clint crashed in Natasha’s room with her, and Steve went with Bucky to his room. Tony, even through everything, had the energy to smirk at them and tell Jarvis to take pictures of it if it didn’t get too smutty in there.


	5. Even Super Heroes Need Sweaters And Good-Smelling Hair

5\. Debit Cards (Natasha)

“I don’t get it,” said Bucky. “It’s a piece of plastic.”

“Think of it this way,” said Natasha; “The card represents the money that you have in the bank, just like cash represents gold. You scan your card on a machine, and it goes directly into your account and removes the exact cost of the thing you’re buying.”

“But what’s the point?”

“It’s easier, since you don’t have to carry around cash. Also, people can’t steal from you easily, since the card is protected with a signature and/or a pin number.”

Thor, Bucky, and Steve stared at her.

“You know what?” Natasha stood up. “Clint, come down here. We’re going to take these boys shopping.”

 

It was only the five of them, so they took one of Tony’s many cars and went to the mall in that. Natasha took Thor to Bath and Body Works so they could look at the hair products (Nat insisted that if Thor was going to be a god, he better smell pretty enough for the part, to which Thor gave a confused, “But I’m a god whether or not I smell like fruit” and Natasha rolled her eyes and pulled him along) and Clint guided Steve and Bucky to one of the many clothing stores.

“I don’t need clothes,” Steve said.

“Me, neither” but Bucky was sifting through the sweaters with a resigned expression.

“Everybody needs clothes,” Clint said, scanning the rafters for some sort of ledge he could climb up onto. “Even you two. You need to be more fashionable. Natasha agrees with me.”

“Of course Natasha agrees with you.” Steve sighed and joined Bucky near the sweaters.

“Whoa, hey, Cap,” Clint cried. “You can’t both get sweaters! I mean, yeah, you could get one or two, but if one of you is going to wear sweaters constantly, it’ll be Bucky.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “So what do you want me to get, then?”

“Nice shirts. You’re the proper one. Get nice, fashionable clothes.” Clint shoved a few button-ups toward him. “It’ll be nice. Try it on.”

Bucky picked out three sweaters and followed the other two toward the dressing rooms, where they told the woman there that they would like two rooms, please. Bucky and Steve received their door tags with a rather confused look, but Clint showed them how to hook it around the doorknob before shoving them in.

“Try it on,” he said, “And then model it. Natasha wanted me to send her pictures.”

Inside his room, Steve stripped off his jacket and shirt. He rapped on the wall between him and Bucky once. “I’m beginning to think this was a mistake,” he said.

“You’re about to start your modeling career, Steve,” Bucky said. “I can’t imagine why you think this is a mistake.”

“Hurry up,” Clint called. “I’m getting impatient.”

Steve shrugged on one of the shirts Clint had given him and closed it, one button at a time. Clint made an impatient noise, and Bucky threw him a lazy insult. “Ready to go, Buck?” Steve asked, knocking on the wall again.

“Been ready,” he replied. “Coming out now.”

They stepped out at the same time, and first they paused so Clint could snap pictures, and then they turned to each other.

The sweater that Bucky had pulled on was grey-blue and had a snowman and sequin snowflakes on it. He pulled at it, a little nervously, and smiled at Steve.

“You look very nice,” he said, nodding at him. Steve looked down at himself—the shirt he had chosen was maroon and had some weird silver design on it. He snorted.

“I do not.”                                                             

“No, really.” Bucky ran a hand through his already messy hair. “You look very nice.”

“You two are so cute it makes me sick,” Clint said. “Bucky, we are definitely buying that sweater for you. Steve…” He shook his head and chuckled. “That looks fantastic man, but no. Not happening. Unless,” he added, “You like it. In which case, of course we’ll buy it. Natasha says that we all love you and we’ll respect your life choices.”

“Right, I get it.” Steve rolled his eyes again and started toward the dressing room again. “I’m taking it off. I’ll try something else on.”

“Wait.” Bucky ran back into his room and returned with a bundle of cloth, which he handed toward Steve. “Try this on.”

“What is it?”

“A sweater. Try it on.” He crossed his arms. “I’ll wait here.”

Back in the dressing room, Steve finally finished unbuttoning his shirt, tossed it back onto the hanger, and pulled on the sweater Bucky had given him. It was extremely comfortable, but it looked a little silly. On it was a felt bear in a Santa suit with “Bear-y Christmas” written underneath. Steve rubbed his face. “Buck,” he said, “It looks awful.”

“Too bad,” Bucky said. “Come out and let us see it.”

Steve took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Clint immediately snapped a picture, shrieking. “It looks stupid,” Steve said.

“It looks fantastic,” Bucky corrected, and he stepped forward and gave Steve a tight, tight hug.

“Nat is gonna love this,” Clint cackled, taking another picture. “We are so buying this for you, Cap.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m gonna wear it,” Steve grumbled, but he knew he would. If it made Bucky this happy, of course he would.


	6. Bucky Discovers What Makes The World Go 'Round

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The sixth chapter is under a hundred words, so I'll be posting the seventh chapter today as well.

6\. Color Television (Bruce)

“How does it work?” Bucky squinted at the screen. “With the movies, too.”

“I honestly don’t know,” said Banner. “I stick to gamma radiation. But it’s cool.”

“What are you watching?” Clint asked, and for once he actually walked through the door.

“Supernatural,” said Natasha. “One, one.”

“That show went to shit after the fifth season,” said Clint, dropping onto the couch next to her. “Look at those two. Adorable.”

Natasha and Bruce weren’t entirely sure if Clint was talking about the boys on the screen or the ones sitting on the floor with their shoulders touching.


	7. The Avengers Follow In the Steps of Teenagers

7\. Netflix (Clint and Natasha)

“Okay, so you know that show we were watching?” Natasha said. “The one with the brothers?”

“Yes.”

“There’s this place that you can get every single episode of every single season.”

“Except for the ninth season,” Clint said. “That just finished.”

“Except for the ninth season,” Natasha agreed. “And best part, Bucky, is that there aren’t any commercials. You can watch them all commercial-free.”

“It’s called Netflix,” said Clint. “Beautiful place. It has movies and shit, too.”

“Place?”

“Not a place.” Natasha elbowed him. “Okay, Bucky. And Steve. Watch this.” She pressed a few buttons on the remote and the screen turned red. “It’ll be here in a snap.”

Their marathon lasted for several days.


	8. Fish Are Friends, Not Food (A Tribute To Carmilla)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about this being posted so late. I was waTCHING PARKS AND REC THOUGH SO IT IS TOTALLY A LEGITIMATE EXCUSE THANK YOU ANON YOU WONDERFUL SOUL

8\. Scuba Diving (Natasha)

Tony flew them all to some private tropical island somewhere near the equator that nobody knew he owned and handed out the gear. Then he snapped on his bracelets, because Iron Man wasn’t about to be caught using an oxygen tank when he had a perfectly good suit that literally pulled the oxygen from the water.

“We don’t get suits?” Bruce asked, looking a little offended.

“Oh, hell no. If you go all green you might dent it.”

“I think you should at least give me a suit,” said Natasha.

“Nope. Only woman allowed in these suits is Pepper. And,” he added, holding up a finger as his suit flew to his body, “Only man is me. There are occasional loopholes.”

“Like with the president.”

“That was brief and it wasn’t my fault,” Tony argued. The others shrugged and started putting on their outfits.

“What exactly,” asked Bucky, “Is the plan here?”

“We’re going to go under water,” said Steve, “And look at fish.”

“Not me.” Clint squinted at the water, which was clear blue and a bit breathtaking. “I hate the water. Hawks do not go in the water. Ducks go in the water. My name is not Duckeye.”

“Which is a shame,” said Natasha unhelpfully.

“I’m going to go hide in a tree and take pictures of you all.”

“I second that notion,” said Thor, “Excepting the tree and picture taking. I’ll wait here.”

“He’s afraid of getting his hair wet,” Tony said, astonished.

“Yeah, well, so’re you.” Natasha had somehow already gotten into the tight black outfit and was fiddling with the goggles. “You’re wearing a metal, water-tight suit.”

The bantering eventually ended and when they were all in their proper outfits (Tony took lots of pictures of Steve and Bucky checking out each other’s asses when they thought nobody was looking), they waded into the water.

Bucky held Steve’s hand as they swam, and they crinkled up their eyes at each other whenever they got the chance, unable to smile but still wanting to make sure the other person was happy.

Banner and Tony smirked at them. Natasha took a lot of pictures for Clint, all of which she sent up to him immediately, and got happy face emoticons in response and then a name for each fish. Clint was especially attached to the black clownfish he called ‘Omen’, claiming he was Nemo’s evil twin. Thor sat on the beach by himself in a lawn chair, switching between his novel and texting Jane.

Bucky spent a long time in the water. It was warm and colorful—everything that his time as a Soviet hadn’t been. And Steve was next to him, and he was beautiful, and everything was okay.


	9. The Avengers Meet A Virtual Challenge

9\. Video games (Clint)

Tony looked baffled. “You haven’t let him play video games yet?”

“Could have been a trigger,” Banner suggested.

“But there’s always Mario!” Tony protested. “Hell, I, for one, would like to see Robocop waving a remote around.”

Steve dropped his head into his hands and groaned.

“Mario?” The word was said very slowly. Bucky looked at Tony. “What is ‘Mario’?”

Tony dropped a white remote into Bucky’s hand and fastened the string around his wrist. “Okay. So hold it sideways. You press this button to jump, and you press this button to move. It’ll make more sense once we’re playing.”

Bucky looked doubtful.

“I promise,” Tony said. He raised his voice. “I need one more player, guys!”

“I call it!” Natasha bellowed, sprinting into the room, but Clint was already there and picking up the remote. She pouted at him.

“You’re too slow,” he said, shrugging. “We’ll take turns.”

“Okay, Bucky,” said Tony. “I’m going to make you Mario, and while I would love to make Steve Princess Peach, that isn’t an option. So he’ll just be one of the mushrooms.”

“We call the other mushroom,” said Natasha immediately.

“Of course you do.”

They got settled in their chairs, and Bucky and Steve sat on the floor with their backs to the couch and their legs stretched out in front of them. Bucky got really into the game, wiggling his remote and shouting at the screen, “God _dammit_ I fucking _jumped_ see I’m pressing the fucking _button_ ” and Steve couldn’t stop laughing, and kept dying because he kept looking back over at Bucky. Tony eventually told Jarvis to change the game to some first person shooting thing, which Bucky was impressively good at, and Clint was impressively awful at. Tony spent a lot of time shooting at walls, and Natasha got frustrated that her character could not jump to places that she felt were completely possible to jump to.


	10. Jarvis Is More Helpful Than Steve Would Like Him To Be

10\. Internet (Fury)

“This is by far the most impressive thing I’ve seen here,” said Thor to Bucky, leading him to a computer with Steve following dutifully behind. “I’m glad Fury mentioned it. The internet. You can look up anything about anybody. You never actually need books, though I would recommend you stick with them if it’s for pleasure. As for research”—Thor logged onto the computer with the username ‘Blondie’ (that was probably Stark’s fault) and clicked on a colorful icon—“you just type what you want into the search bar and the results will come up.” He typed in, very slowly because he couldn’t find the correct keys, ‘Captain America’ and hit ‘enter’. Another page came up with a long list of things. “See? Articles, pictures, everything. It’s great. And then you can look up short movies too. Videos.”

Bucky watched in fascination as Thor clicked on the ‘images’ tab and a collection of pictures of Steve came up. Steve made a small sound when he saw that the first ten were shirtless.

“Impressive, Captain,” said Thor, sounding amused. “I didn’t know this was possible. Do you do this on purpose?”

Steve blushed bright red and Bucky laughed at him. Clint dropped from the ceiling.

“Don’t blame him,” he said cheerily. “That’s mostly my fault. Well, and Jarvis’s. Thanks, Jarvis,” he called, looking up.

“You are quite welcome,” said Jarvis in his calm voice.

“I have him set up to take pictures whenever Cap is shirtless,” Clint informed them. “Except when he’s like, completely naked. I wouldn’t be that cruel.”

“Are you serious?” Steve groaned. Bucky was on the floor by now, clutching his stomach with his metal arm and gasping for breath. Clint peered down at him, grinning.

“Do you want me to forward you the pictures as soon as they’re taken?” Clint asked. “There’re some really good ones. Here, look.” He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his gallery, then displayed the screen to Bucky. The picture was of Steve, with his shirt halfway up and stuck on his head. His mouth was curled in a state of frozen frustration. “And look at the next one” which was of Steve tripping forward, his arms stretched out in front of him to catch himself when he fell. Bucky fell into a fit of laughter again, and Clint joined him.

“Like I said,” Thor told Steve, “The internet is a wonderful place.”

Steve looked at Bucky and Clint doubtfully. “If you say so.”


	11. Please Don't Destroy The World While I'm Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ALMOST DELETED THIS WHOLE THING I THINK I HAD A MINOR HEART ATTACK

11\. Skype (Fury)

Nick Fury glared down at the Avengers, his arms crossed behind his back, his hands folded. “I’m going to be leaving for a few days. Do you think you all could handle S.H.I.E.L.D. while I’m gone?”

“Oh, hell yes,” said Tony, scoffing, throwing his feet onto the table. Pepper, who just returned from some trip to D.C., gave him a disapproving look and wacked his legs with a newspaper. “We’ve got this, Fury. Go on and do your thing.”

“Really,” said Clint. “We won’t destroy too many buildings.”

“I actually didn’t destroy any buildings,” Natasha contradicted. “And neither did you, Clint. Or Steve.”

“It was mostly me,” said Bruce. “Well. Mostly the monster. And Bucky.”

Bucky wasn’t technically part of the Avengers, but he still sat in the room, close to Steve, with his hands folded in his lap. He shrugged at them.

“Wasn’t Bucky,” Steve automatically said, defensive. “That was The Soldier.”

“I _am_ The Soldier, Steve,” Bucky sighed. “I was just a little forgetful.”

“Of your whole life,” said Tony. He winked at Steve, who shook his head very slightly. “What? Just defending your boyfriend’s innocence, Capsicle.”

“Not his boyfriend,” Bucky said. Steve nodded at him, but everybody but Bucky could see that he was a little hurt.

“You’re both stupid,” said Clint.

“Agents,” Fury said sternly. “Focus. I don’t care who is dating who or who is sleeping with who or who pretends they aren’t dating who. I need to know if you can handle yourselves and not destroy the city.”

“For that,” Tony said, “We’ll need a few things.”

Fury sighed.

“Like a lot of redi-whip and ice cream,” Tony said, counting off on his fingers, “And sprinkles and bananas and chocolate because even though it isn’t on the list, Elsa, sundaes are the fucking shit.”

“Tony,” said Pepper.

Bucky looked confused. “Are you talking to me? Who’s Elsa?”

“Movie reference,” said Natasha. “It’s a thing.”

“That isn’t all,” said Tony. “We’ll also need a lot of alcohol. We’re going to see if Bucky can get drunk. And then we’ll also need to get him a phone. For. You know. The next thing on the list.”

“Cellphone,” said Bruce, nodding. “That was Thor’s idea. And then we’ll need a smartphone for my idea, since I’m a bit smarter and I thought of smartphones.”

“You used my idea,” said Thor a bit grumpily. “I thought that all phones were smart.”

“They’re all stupid, actually.” Stark looked over at Fury and gave him a big smile. “Think you can find all that stuff for us, Fury?”

“Do you think you could find it all yourself?” Fury shot back. “S.H.I.E.L.D. is not funding your child’s play.”

All members of the team looked offended, even Bucky, and Clint went as far as to gasp and fall out of his chair, his hand flying to his forehead. “I feel…I feel faint.”

Natasha dove toward him and fanned his face. “Hold on, Clint. Just hold on. We can make it through this.”

Banner rolled his eyes and Thor smiled at them in a manner that made them both think that he was a fatherly figure looking at his children. Fury sighed deeply from the front of the room, his shoulders drooping out of their stiff position. “Sometimes I wish I had an actual team of adults.”

“Kill me now,” Clint moaned. Natasha fanned him harder, shouting, “You’re killing him, Fury!”

“I’m leaving now,” Fury said loudly. “Please try not to destroy New York.”

“I apologize for this,” called Pepper, but she was giggling. Tony knew that she was enjoying herself, even if she was trying to be the adult.

 

That night, they all gathered in the room again with their sundaes in hand. Bucky and Steve were having it for their first time, sharing one—Thor, apparently, had gone for one with Jane. Bucky and Steve had decided to go for three scoops of ice cream between slices of banana, and topped it with way too much Hershey’s syrup until Banner was grimacing and gagging a little with his small bowl of vanilla ice cream in front of him, then topped it with an assortment of sprinkles that Tony had gotten from the grocery store while in his Iron Man suit. The cashier did not bother to question why he was buying fifty bottles of sprinkles, and Tony did not provide an answer.

They settled into their seats, and then Tony told Jarvis to call Fury.

“This,” Natasha whispered to Bucky, “Is Skype. Video chat, via the internet.”

Bucky tilted his head at her.

“We have a camera here, and Fury has a camera where he is. Whatever he’s doing right now is being transmitted to us so we can see it, and whatever we’re doing here right now is being transmitted to him. It’s like having a phone call, but we can see each other’s faces.”

“That would’ve been useful in the war,” said Bucky, and Steve nodded in agreement. “’Course,” he continued, “Not really for you and me, Steve.”

“You’re right,” he said, reaching over to squeeze Bucky’s hand. “We had each other.”

“Aw,” said Tony. “Jarvis, please tell me you recorded that.”

“I did, sir,” said Jarvis. “I am saving it into your hard drive now, under ‘Stucky number seventy-three’.”

“Jesus Christ,” Bucky said. “Seventy-three?”

“It’s in the B-folder. The A folder already filled up,” Jarvis said. “It maxed out at two hundred files.”

“You guys have a lot of moments,” said Natasha wisely. Before either of them could reply, or ask what a ‘moment’ was, or what ‘stucky’ meant, Fury’s face appeared on the wall.

“I checked the news,” he said, “And if you have destroyed anything, it hasn’t been reported. So you’re either covering up, or you’ve actually behaved.”

“You wound us, Fury,” Clint said, holding a hand over his heart and trying his best to look properly insulted. He already had chocolate on his face and Natasha reached over to wipe it off with a napkin.

“Do you need anything, Director?” asked Steve, always the dutiful one. Bucky and Clint’s eyes met, and they exchanged annoyed glances.

“Not at the moment, Cap. Just calling to check up on you.” He looked over at Bucky. “What do you think, Barnes?”

“It’s very interesting,” said Bucky.

“Thought you might think so.” Fury nodded. “Again. Please do not destroy anything, Avengers. Fury out.” And the screen clicked off.


	12. Tony Stark: Genius, Playboy, Billionaire, Philanthropist, Child

12\. Cell phones (Thor)

“Can you hear me now?” Tony flew higher into the sky, until Bucky, waiting on the ground with the phone up to his ear, was just a tiny speck. “Can you hear me now? How about now?”

“Are you always like this?” Bucky asked. He didn’t sound very irritated.

“Every single minute,” said Tony, flying to the left a little, “Of every single hour” to the right a little “of every single day” and he shot toward the ground. Bucky laughed at him.


	13. Bucky Is Far More Sentimental Than He Will Ever Admit

13\. Smart phones (Bruce)

“All of that information on the computer,” said Banner, passing over his phone, “Is all in this phone. The little icons are called apps. And see, this one was on the computer. If you click on it, you can use it just like a computer.”

“You can fit all of that information into this?” Bucky took the phone and examined it carefully. “That’s really weird.”

“I didn’t believe it at first,” said Steve, walking up. “And then I remembered that I was on a flying carrier. And it seemed a bit more believable.”

“I’ve seen a few things in my lifetime,” said Bucky. “When I was still working with Hydra they would just tell me the information that I needed when I asked. This would’ve been very helpful.”

“Smartphones can be tracked,” Banner said. “That’s probably why they didn’t give you one. So Captain America couldn’t find you.”

Bucky scoffed. “Please. I would’ve kicked his ass whether he found me earlier or not.” He looked over at Steve and smiled. “Not that I would ever want to.”

“Of course not, Bucky.” Steve patted him on the back. “Till the end of the line?”

“Till the end of the line,” Bucky echoed.


	14. An Assassin Already Knows All of This

14\. Computers (Tony)

“I’m supposed to see you about computers,” Bucky said. He stood in Tony’s doorway and fiddled with his metal fingers.

“You already know a ton about computers,” said Tony. “I just thought that they were worth putting on the list.”

“So…”

“Come inside.” Tony waved him in and lifted a bottle of whiskey. “Have you ever tried this? It’s delicious. Makes my insides burn.”

“Which isn’t healthy at all,” called Piper, from somewhere in Tony’s kitchen. He shrugged.

“What do you say? Feel like drinking with the big boys?”

“Big boys? How do you define ‘big boys’?”

“Do you want a drink or not?”

“Please.” Bucky walked in, accepted the shot glass, and knocked it back.


	15. Tony Stark is Limitless

15\. Atomic Power (Tony)

“Right,” said Tony, once they were properly drunk. “I’m also supposed to tell you about atomic power. Basically it powers homes and shit. And televisions. And computers. Fish tanks.” He continued to list off random electronic devices until Bucky zoned out and when Steve came to find him three hours later, Tony was still going.


	16. We'll Write Our Names In The Sky

16\. Jet airplanes (Steve)

“Of course you would freak out over a fucking airplane,” said Bucky. He rolled his eyes at Steve, but followed him to the carrier anyway so Steve could gush about the different kinds of jets.

Bucky didn’t really listen, but he liked watching Steve, and being with Steve, just like old times. Just the two of them against the world, sitting on the docks and watching the ships sail by and dreaming of the day when they, too, could fight for their country, could become heroes. That was before either of them had changed—before Steve became the real hero and Bucky became the monster.

Now, sitting on the dock with Steve and watching the carrier slowly chug by, Bucky couldn’t imagine wanting to be anywhere else. He held Steve’s hand in his own and leaned his head against his shoulder, thankful that Steve was tall enough now for that.

And they watched the ocean together, quietly, not moving, until the sun went down and the stars came out.


	17. According to Clint, The Best Invention

17\. Cake Mix (Clint)

“This is seriously the best thing on the list,” said Clint. “The best invention of all time.” He walked into Bucky’s kitchen and dropped a stack of boxes onto his counter. Steve and Bucky looked through them—lemon, rainbow, vanilla, chocolate, German chocolate, and so on.

Steve looked at Clint. “What is this?”

“Cake flavors,” Tony said. He flew into the room and flipped open his helmet. Natasha followed him in with another box and sighed.

“Must you constantly wear that? It can’t possibly be comfortable.”

“It actually is. Why in the world would I wear something that isn’t comfortable?”

Steve took the box from Natasha. “I don’t know, maybe to save people?” Tony shrugged. “Where’s Thor? And Banner?”

“Thor is on his floor,” Natasha answered, “Reading something. Clint and I have bets on how nerdy the book is. We think the god is a closet nerd.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” muttered Tony. “He’s over-compensating with the outfit and the hair.”

“Pretty sure that’s how Asgardians dress,” said Bucky.

“And Banner’s in the lab fiddling with something.” Natasha rubbed her hands together. “So what kind of cake do you want, Bucky?”

“Something simple,” he said. “Like. Chocolate, maybe.”

“Good choice.” Clint pulled out two of the chocolate boxes and slammed them onto the counter. “Okay, Bucky. When you made cake—”

“Steve always made the cake,” Bucky interrupted. Tony spluttered.

“Fine,” Clint said. “When Steve was making you a nice chocolate cake. What did he put in it? Besides undying love and devotion.”

“Um.” Bucky looked over at Steve, who nodded encouragingly. “Flour, sugar, salt, cocoa—”

“And on and on,” Clint finished for him. “Right. But with this”—he lifted one of the lemon boxes—“all you need is oil, milk, and eggs. And you mix it with the package inside, and voila, you have yourself a cake.”

Bucky’s eyes widened a bit, and Steve grinned at him. “It’s a kit?”

“It’s a kit,” Clint said. “Go get the eggs.”


	18. The Immunity of Steven Grant Rogers

18\. Brownie Mix (Clint)

“I’m going to be sick,” Bucky announced, finishing his sixth brownie. “This is going to be worse than Disneyworld.”

“It already is,” said Natasha. “How am I not fat. Clint. How.”

“Everything looks fat,” Clint answered.

Steve was on his third slice of cake and fourth brownie and seemed perfectly fine. Everybody else quickly blamed his immunity of sugar on the serum.

“It’s so good,” Natasha groaned. “Ugh. I just. I want to eat it all.”

“It amuses me greatly,” said Thor, walking in, “That you all managed to save New York from an alien invasion, but you cannot handle sugar.”

“Hey,” Bucky said. “I didn’t save New York. I actually tried to destroy it. And the rest of the word.”

Thor raised his eyebrows. “You defeated Captain America, James. That in itself is an accomplishment.”

“Didn’t defeat me,” Steve mumbled. “Almost. But you didn’t.”

Bucky laughed and wrapped his arms around Steve.

Jarvis took a picture, and Clint and Tony got notifications.


	19. And Everything Happened At Once

19\. SD cards (Tony)

“This one’s kinda boring,” Tony said. “I could fit a whole computer’s worth of information on this little card and still have room for a movie.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “How’s that, Jarvis? Short and sweet.”

“Sir,” said the robot, “I would not recommend going in to see Bucky at this current time.”

Tony looked up. “What? Why?”

Jarvis sounded pained. “Mr. Barnes is otherwise occupied with Captain Rogers, sir. I did take pictures for you.”

Tony got a notification on his phone and, somewhere above him, he could hear Clint whoop. “Tony, you seeing this?”

“Show me the pictures, Jarvis,” Tony ordered, and an enlarged photo of a certain Bucky Barnes and his Steve Rogers entangled in a make-out session came up. Tony cheered and Pepper, walking into the room, started smiling and couldn’t stop.

“I called Natasha,” Clint said, sliding to the floor. He held up his phone, from which Tony could hear screaming. “She’s excited.”

Natasha soon bounded into the room, with Thor and Bruce following confusedly, and leapt into Clint’s arms, wrapping her legs around his waist.

“What’s going on?” Bruce asked.

“Steve and Bucky finally got their shit together!” Natasha squealed, and she kissed Clint hard on the mouth.

Tony fell over.


	20. It Was Only Dessert, How Did It End Up Like This? It Was Only Dessert. IT WAS ONLY DESSERT.

~~19 ½. Bucky (Steve)~~ Cap we can’t put this on here it’s for Bucky you icicle (-Tony)

“Feeling better yet?” Steve wrung out a cold washcloth and knelt by Bucky, dabbing his forehead gently.

“If by better,” Bucky said, “You mean I no longer feel like I’m going to puke up my insides, then yes. I’m feeling much better.” He gave Steve a weak smile. “I’ll be fine. Give it…half an hour. I’ll be good.”

“Your fault for eating so much,” Steve told him.

“You ate more than me and you’re fine.”

“Yes, well, I have science supporting my gluttony.”

Bucky groaned and hit him weakly on the shoulder. “Lucky bastard. If my platoon had waited a _few more days_ …”

“Then you probably would have been chosen instead of me.”

“Or we both would’ve been chosen.” Bucky grinned at him. “We would’ve been so great together, y’know? Would’ve kicked some Nazi and Hydra ass.”

“Probably.” Steve dabbed his forehead again.

“This is ironic,” said Bucky, after a few minutes. “And really weird.”

“What, this?” Steve asked, lifting the washcloth.

“Yeah. I just. I used to be the one taking care of you. And now I’m dying of death and you’re standing over me with a rag. Just like the old days, but backwards.”

“I don’t think I was dying of eating too much sugar,” said Steve wryly. “Pretty sure it was asthma attacks. And pneumonia. And low blood sugar. And my peanut allergy.”

“Are you going to continue?”

Steve wet the cloth again. “I don’t think I need to. You know most of it.” He sat down, leaning against the couch, and sighed. “How much time is left before you’re supposedly going to be better?”

Bucky checked his watch. “Twenty-five minutes. I’m feeling better already.” He sat up and grabbed the washcloth from Steve’s hand and put it around the back of his neck. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“Sit by me.”

Steve stood up and dropped down next to Bucky, who put his head onto Steve’s shoulder.

“I missed you,” he murmured. Steve looked down at him.

“What do you mean?”

“When I was the Soldier. When I didn’t have any control. I…missed you. I always felt like something was missing. I remember that. And then whenever I saw somebody that reminded me of you, I would always hesitate. I would always falter. It got me into a lot of shit I could’ve avoided.”

“Sorry.”

Bucky made an irritated noise. “It isn’t your fault, Steve. You don’t have to blame yourself for everything. Besides.” He lifted his face and then leaned forward. His lips connected with Steve’s. For a few seconds, Steve couldn’t move—his whole mind was consumed by the feel of Bucky’s mouth against his. Then Bucky pulled away, and he smiled a little. “You already got your revenge for me. So everything’s okay.”

Steve stared at him. Bucky’s face drained of all color.

“Oh. Shit.” He backed up hastily. “Shit. Shit.”

Steve caught his hand. “Wait, Buck—”

“Sorry, Steve. I didn’t mean—”

Steve pulled him back toward him and wrapped one arm around Bucky’s waist. “Shut up,” he said, and (how did he summon up the courage for this? Was it the sugar high?) kissed Bucky again. Bucky made a little moaning sound and pressed against Steve, pushing him back against the couch and rested his metal arm on the cushions to hold him up because if he used anything else, it would have collapsed from his sheer excitement. He kissed Steve like he had waited for this for his whole life. And Steve kissed him back.


	21. The Avengers Go Downtown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO THIS IS THE END. THIS IS IT. IT'S OVER.  
> what do i do now  
> also I love you all every single person who has kudo'd and/or commented you are wonderful and fantastic and you do you, friends.

20\. ~~Tony Stark (Tony)~~ Avengers (Fuck you, Tony. Love, Natasha and Clint)

Steve and Bucky broke apart when Tony, Pepper, Clint, and Natasha walked in—Steve’s cheeks were burning and Bucky was smirking.

“Shit,” Steve mumbled, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Don’t stop on account of us,” said Tony, holding his hands up. “By all means, continue. It’s about fucking time.” He sat down cross-legged on the floor and grinned at them. “So who kissed who first?”

“That would be Bucky kissed Steve first, sir,” said Jarvis helpfully.

“Shut up, Jarvis. I wasn’t talking to you.”

“My apologies, sir. I assumed neither would answer.”

“Steve wouldn’t have,” Bucky said. He was grinning harder than he had in over seventy years. “When did you two get together?” he asked, nodding at Natasha and Clint, who were holding hands.

“Well,” said Pepper, “Apparently they’ve been together for a while, now. But we found out five minutes ago. It was really quite cute. I would say you should’ve seen it, but I think that you two were enjoying yourselves enough.”

“We were,” Bucky said. “We really were.” He squeezed Steve’s thigh, making him blush harder.

“I took pictures,” Jarvis said. “I assumed you would want them, sir.”

Tony pulled Pepper toward him and kissed her cheek. “Thank you, Jarvis. You two,” he said, pointing at Steve and Bucky. “When’s the wedding?”

Bucky looked surprised.

“Oh. Right.” Clint wrapped an arm around Natasha and they smiled at one another. “Same sex marriage is legal, now. We should’ve put that on the list.”

“Yeah, instead of the stupid stuff you came up with, Tony,” added Natasha.

“When we were younger,” Bucky said. “I wasn’t even allowed to show it.”

Steve just looked at him, and Bucky laughed.

“Oh, come on, Steve. You didn’t notice the gigantic crush I had on you?”

Steve blinked. “Um. No?”

Bucky kissed him. “You idiot.”

“How about we go dancing?” Pepper asked. “That would be nice, wouldn’t it? Do you think you could put that together, Tony?”

“Am I Iron Man?” he replied jokingly, and then said, “I am. I am Iron Man.”

“That was only shocking the first time you said it.”

“Yeah, well.” Tony pulled out his phone and looked over at the other two couples in the room. “Should I invite Blondie?”

“If Jane can come,” Pepper said. “I can call her. And see if Bruce has a date.”

 

They regrouped at a bar somewhere downtown, near the schwarma place they stopped at after their first big battle together. Pepper, Jane, Natasha, and Bruce’s lady friend all wore dresses, and tried to convince either Steve or Bucky to wear one, too—they declined the offer, but Bucky agreed to go shopping with them for a new suit while Steve went with the other men.

“Look at that,” said Clint, leaning against the bar. He pointed toward the doorway, where the women (and Bucky) were entering. “Beautiful.” He sauntered forward and offered his hand to Natasha, and, after thoroughly examining it for a buzzer, she took it, and he led her onto the dance floor. Thor, of course, did an elaborate bow before he asked for Jane’s hand, and Tony had to be forced by Pepper to join them. Bruce’s friend joined him at the bar for some drinks (he insisted they were just friends, and the rest of the team decided it would be their new goal to either get Bruce and this girl together, or find him a proper date.)

Bucky stood in front of Steve in his new suit, shyly fiddling with his sleeves. He really looked great in a suit. Steve hadn’t seen him in one since their school dance all those years ago.

“Are you being bashful, Bucky?” Steve teased. “You went through countless women and now you’re starting to blush?”

“You’re different,” Bucky said. He reached out and touched Steve’s clean-shaven cheek with a gentle hand. “You’ve always been different.”

“Bucky Barnes.”

“Steve Rogers.”

“I love you.”

Bucky smiled and kissed his boyfriend softly. His hand cupped against Steve’s neck, pulling him closer, deeper into the kiss. “And I love you. Would you like to dance?”

Steve had heard that line—would you like to dance—coming from Bucky’s mouth so many times, directed at all different kinds of women; the scantily clad, the conservative, the pouting lipped, the slender, the curvy. And none of those times made a shiver run up Steve’s back like this, made him go weak in the knees and overwhelmingly dizzy.

Steve Rogers could take down almost all of Hydra’s army single-handedly. But when Bucky gave him that little smile and murmured that question into his ear, with his lips brushing Steve’s neck when they moved, all of Steve’s defenses crumbled to the ground.

He put his forehead on Bucky’s shoulder. Why had this taken so long? Why hadn’t they done this before? Why didn’t they, when they were kids, dance in the privacy of their bedroom, or on the docks while they watched the sun rise?

They had wasted so much time.

“I would love to dance,” Steve whispered. Bucky took his hand and pulled him toward the crowd. A slow song was playing, and Bucky pulled him close to his chest, so close that Steve could feel his heart beating, feel the rise and fall of each breath. Bucky put his stubbled cheek against Steve’s.

“That list,” he said.

“Yeah?”

“All of the great things about the future. All of the technology. The kits and the scuba diving and the amusement parks. Tiny pieces of plastic that held your whole bank.” Bucky kissed Steve’s jaw. “I didn’t ever want technology. I only wanted you.”

Tony and Clint got notifications on their phones.

“How the hell,” said Natasha loudly, “Is Jarvis taking pictures here?”

“Video,” Tony said. “Holy crap! Guys!”

“You two are adorable!” Clint shouted.

Steve groaned. He looked at Bucky. “Do you want to take this back to the tower?”

“I’m not waiting that long.” Bucky’s body was flush against Steve’s. “Come on. We’re seeing if this place has a back room.”

“Somebody’s getting laid!” Natasha whooped.

As Bucky closed the door, he could hear Tony say, “Aren’t we all?”

“Not me,” said Banner, and then Steve’s senses were drowned out by Bucky’s kisses.


End file.
